Business and traffic commentary September 2019

07:00 11th October 2019

Heathrow calls for further industry-wide action on carbon as the airport's biggest airline becomes first to commit to net zero 

§ Heathrow welcomed 6.7million passengers in September, bringing total passenger numbers from January to end of September 2019 to nearly 61 million (+0.7% over the same period last year)

§ More than 125,000 metric tonnes of cargo made its way through the UK's largest port by value. The top market for cargo growth was the Middle East (+1.7%)

§ Heathrow proudly welcomed the plan by British Airways parent company IAG to offset carbon emissions for all its UK domestic flights from 2020, becoming the first airline group worldwide to commit to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050

§ The airport announced it will kick-start a new trial turning unrecyclable plastic passenger waste - including food packaging and plastic film - into airport furniture, uniforms and lower-emission jet fuel by 2025,

§ Heathrow Chief Executive John Holland-Kaye attended the UN Climate Summit in New York and announced Heathrow would join the World Economic Forum's new 'Clean Skies for Tomorrow Coalition' aimed at helping the sector achieve carbon-neutral flying, while also welcoming the Committee on Climate Change recommendation for government to include aviation in the UK's net zero emissions target by 2050

§ Virgin Atlantic announced plans to open over 80 new routes from an expanded Heathrow, helping to create a second flag carrier at the UK's hub airport in a move that will increase competition and improve passenger choice 

§ Following the close of Heathrow's 12-week statutory consultation on the preferred masterplan for expansion, polling showed that more local residents support the project than oppose it in 16 out of the 18 Parliamentary constituencies around Heathrow 

Heathrow Chief Executive John Holland-Kaye, said:

"Heathrow is committed to achieving net zero emissions in aviation and is working to decarbonise airport operations as quickly as possible. IAG's announcement of net zero emissions from flight by 2050 shows that the aviation sector as a whole can decarbonise and protect the benefits of global travel and trade. We will work with them to achieve this and call on other airlines to follow their lead."

September 2019 Traffic Figures